Threads of Light
by onemorehandmedown
Summary: AU - Evie is not a normal child. What is the truth about her strange abilities? Are the a gift or a curse? Sequel to Hide and Seek
1. I Look at My Daughter and I Believe

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything whatsoever to do with Supernatural.

A/N: This is a sequel to 'Hide and Seek'. To those of you who read that story, I'm sorry this has taken so long. The weather lately has not been conducive to having a laptop on my knees. As always, thanks for reading.

**Chapter 1 – I Look at my Daughter and I Believe**

_I don't need no-one_

_To tell me about Heaven_

_I look at my daughter_

_And I believe_

- Live 'Heaven'

Evening was setting in and a cool breeze danced across the countryside. In the fading light Dean and Evie spun, faster and faster until they fell to the ground in a dizzy, giggling heap. Panting, Dean stole a glance at Sam who was watching from Bobby's back porch with a smile dancing on his lips. It seemed they had both been smiling a lot more since Evie came into their lives.

"Again, again!" Evie begged.

"Sorry sweetie, it's getting dark and it's getting cold. Maybe tomorrow."

"Awww…" She pouted.

"Come on, I'll race you to the house."

Evie brightened up immediately. "Ok! Ready, setty, go!"

She took off, Dean trailing behind and telling her to slow down. As he passed by his brother Sam asked him a question that immediately dampened his mood.

"Have you asked Bobby about Evie yet?"

No he hadn't and he didn't want to. Loathe though he was to admit it, Dean was scared of what Bobby might tell him. There was no way that what Evie had done a week ago with the fire was normal.

He couldn't put it off forever though, and it was past time he got it over with. Maybe tonight, after Evie was in bed….maybe.

***

Inside Bobby was adding vegetables to the stew he was cooking for dinner.

"That smells good." Dean commented.

"It'll be ready in about half an hour so could you do me a favour and clear that table off?"

The table had originally been covered in heaps of old and rather obscure books. Now it held one book, a pen and numerous coloured pencils and textas. The book had a pretty, embroidered outer cover and normally Dean wouldn't even have considered buying it but given its intended use he'd thought it should look special and it was for a girl after all. Dean called it a memory book and for the past week he and Evie had been filling it with memories of Evie's mother, Mim.

While Dean recorded Evie's words and some of his own from before she was born, Evie drew pictures. When his own mother died Dean had had to work hard to hold on to any memories of her at all. He'd only had one photograph and his father hadn't wanted to talk about her. Dean had quickly learned that life was easier if he didn't mention her at all but he hadn't liked it and he didn't want Evie to have the same experience. So far she seemed to have taken to the idea.

Dean tidied up and set the table. By the time they sat down to eat the darkness outside was almost complete.

The stew was both tasty and filling. Most importantly it wasn't burned, unlike the meal of the night before. Sam had insisted that the blackened lumps in the pan were sausages but it was impossible to tell for sure. Whatever they were, they were no longer edible and they'd had to make do with the slightly overcooked vegetables. In Sam's defence, cooking had never really been considered an essential skill in the Winchester household when they were growing up. Having said that, it might have helped if Sam hadn't been attempting to cook and read a book about demons at the same time.

They had almost finished eating when Evie accidentally knocked her bowl and ended up with stew all down her front.

"Urgh!" She yelped. "Yuck! Dean, look!"

Her lower lip quivered as though she was about to cry.

Time for Dean to save the day. "It's ok Evie. You finish your dinner and then we'll get you cleaned up. It's nearly bath time anyway."

Evie nodded. "Ok." She still didn't look very happy but at least there seemed to be no further danger of tears.

***

Bath time with Evie was always an experience. At first she had splashed so much that Dean would leave the bathroom almost as wet as she was, that was until he convinced her that Bobby wouldn't appreciate having his bathroom flooded. Then came the bubble bath. Dean had seen some when he was in town and thought that Evie might like it.

As it turned out, like didn't even begin to cover it. Evie loved the bubbles. Her favourite game with them was to pick up a handful and blow them away, usually into Dean's face. She also liked to pick up handfuls of bubbles, put them on the edge of the bath and tell Dean that they were ice creams. Possibly the reason she enjoyed this particular game so much was that Dean would then pretend to eat them and then make a ridiculous fuss about how Evie had 'tricked' him.

Whatever game Evie decided to play, bath time was never brief and this time was no exception. By the time Evie consented to get out of the tub the water was going cold and she was wrinkled like a little pink prune.

Bedtime was easier.

Evie was so tired that she fell asleep halfway through the story Dean was reading her.

***

Later that night, after Evie had gone to bed and Sam had gone upstairs to shower, Dean finally found the courage to talk to Bobby about Evie's ability to coax images out of flames.

"Missouri Moseley? You've gotta be kidding me!"

There had to be another way, surely? Dean had no desire to see Missouri ever again and that wasn't even taking into account that going to see her meant going back to Lawrence.

"Look, you're the one who asked me for advice. Now, I don't know what Evie's deal is but Missouri will more than likely be able to tell you. What's the problem anyway? She doesn't bite you know."

"Wanna bet? I've met her and, for reasons I can't even begin to comprehend, I seem to be able to piss her off just by breathing! Is there anyone else?"

Bobby shrugged. "Sure, there are other psychics out there but Missouri is the best one I know. The others probably wouldn't be able to help you any more than I can."

Dean sighed in defeat. "Fine," he ground out, "She'd better know something though, 'cause if I have to go to Lawrence and put up with being chewed out every time I turn around and it ends up that she doesn't know shit I'm going to be really, really pissed."

"As long as you don't take it out on me. I may be getting on but I can still kick your ass boy."

***

Dean woke suddenly to the sound of crying and the sense that someone was leaning over him. He opened his eyes and immediately let go of the hunting knife hidden beneath his pillow when he saw who was there. He might have to find another form of precaution if this kept happening.

"What's wrong Evie? Did you have a nightmare?"

The little girl nodded her head. "Yes."

Dean sat up and pulled her close. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"I want Mummy."

"I know sweetie. I wish your mum was still here too."

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?"

Dean sighed. Evie had come to him with this same request every night bar one over the two weeks they'd been with Bobby and he always caved, just as he'd done with Sam when they were children and Sam would have nightmares.

"Alright, hop in."

She climbed up, snuggling into him on the narrow camp stretcher. Dean had insisted that Sam and Evie have the beds.

Dean was on the verge of going back to sleep when Evie spoke again.

"Oh no! I left Lolly on my bed."

Lolly was the name of the toy dragon Evie liked to take everywhere.

"Well, go get her then."

Dean felt Evie sit up, but she didn't get off the bed and he was about to tell her to either go get Lolly or lie back down when he caught sight of something moving across the room. He sat up to see what was going on.

The moonlight that spilled through the window above Sam's bed allowed Dean to see that Lolly was moving across the room unsupported towards Evie's outstretched arms.

He exchanged a glance with Sam, who was awake and watching the spectacle.

What else could this child do?

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Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated :)


	2. The Truth about Evie

Disclaimer: Same as chapter 1

A/N: So here's the second chapter. I was a little nervous about putting this up as I've never written Missouri at any great length before and because I've only seen her in one episode of the show it's been difficult for me to get a handle on how she speaks, so apologies if the dialogue doesn't seem right. I hope you enjoy it anyway. Thank you to everyone who has been reading so far and an extra thank you to enid18 - I really appreciate you leaving a review as I love to hear what people think of my stuff.

* * *

**Chapter 2 – The Truth About Evie**

They arrived on Missouri's porch late the following evening. Evie was getting tired and, judging by the way she hid behind Dean's legs when he rang the bell, was not particularly keen on meeting anyone new. Considering who she was about to meet, Dean could sympathise.

Soon approaching footsteps could be heard from inside the house and then Missouri was standing in front of them.

"Sam, Dean it's good to see you again. Come on in."

Sam went first but when Dean made to follow he nearly fell on his face. Evie was holding on to his right leg for all she was worth and clearly had no intention of moving.

Dean knelt down and twisted to face his daughter. "Come on Evie, it's too cold to hang around out here."

Evie's only response was to release his leg in favour of his waist. Figuring they could be on the porch all night if he kept trying to talk her into obedience Dean lifted her up and carried her inside.

"She's had a long day." He explained to Missouri. "Sam, maybe we should find somewhere to stay and come back tomorrow. I think Evie needs to go to bed."

Sam opened his mouth to reply but Missouri got in first. "You will do no such thing. You're not taking that child to some dive no tell motel. You're all staying here and that's that. Now, y'all had something to eat?"

"We stopped at a diner a couple of hours back. Are you sure you want us all staying here? I mean, I know I'm not your favourite person…" Dean trailed off at the look Missouri was giving him.

"I'll show you the spare room."

With that Missouri turned and lead the way upstairs.

***

Once Evie had been put to bed Sam and Dean joined Missouri in her living room.

"Now, I believe you wanted to ask me something about Evelyn?"

Dean wondered why Missouri was asking. He'd been thinking about it ever since arriving; surely she'd heard him? She'd certainly been able to hear everything he was thinking the last time he'd seen her.

"Evie seems to have some…strange…abilities. A week ago we were sitting in front of the fire at Bobby's and she made pictures appear in the flames. Last night she made one of her toys float across the room. How is she able to do that?" Dean tensed, unsure if he wanted to hear her answer.

"Well, I can't say that surprises me, I knew from the moment I laid eyes on her that she had power. Dean, I think your little girl is a mage."

Dean felt as though he'd just swallowed a large rock.

"No…she can't be…she's too young…and wouldn't we have seen her performing the rituals?" Sam spoke the words Dean couldn't bear to say, shock written all over his face and coming out in his voice.

"What are you talking about boy?"

Confusion now mingled with the shock. "Well isn't mage another word for witch?"

Missouri shook her head. "No. Mages are born with their power and don't need any special words or rituals to tap into it. Some go through their entire lives never knowing they have it. Evie's power would be relatively weak now but it will get stronger as she grows."

Dean hadn't felt so relieved since finding that Sam was unharmed after his encounter with a shtriga so many years ago.

"So is being a mage hereditary or just random?"

"It's hard to tell. Like I said, some people don't even know they are mages."

Dean nodded and fell silent, trying to take all this in. His daughter, a mage? If she'd been Sammy's daughter it would have made more sense. Although…Sam's abilities hadn't kicked in until he was twenty two and Missouri had never said anything about mages when she met him…maybe it wasn't the same thing. Then a horrible thought occurred to him.

"What if she does something in public? How the hell are we going to explain it?"

Missouri rolled her eyes. "Relax Dean, she probably won't do anything in public…well, not yet anyway. To use her powers Evie needs a high level of concentration. I doubt she'll be able to achieve that out in public with so many distractions, not at her age. Oh, by the way – no, Sam is not a mage. I don't know how he comes by his abilities but trust me, I would know if he was a mage."

Sam looked at Dean pointedly.

"Well, you have powers, Evie has powers, neither of you are witches…it was a perfectly reasonable question!"

***

Later that night Dean tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Finally he got up and went downstairs, thinking that maybe a glass of water would help. When he walked into the kitchen to find Missouri there drinking something out of a mug he immediately regretted acting on the idea.

"Dean, I believe I've told you before to stop using language like that in my house. I hope you've been holding your tongue in front of that child."

"Of course I…" Dean snapped, only to trail off horrified. "She can't read my mind can she?"

"I doubt it. I think you'd have noticed if she was using words that would make a sailor blush."

"Good." Dean wasn't as concerned about the language Evie might pick up from listening to his thoughts as he was about what she might find out.

Missouri sighed. "You need to tell her Dean. Evie may find it difficult at first but she'll forgive you in time."

"Tell Evie what?"

Missouri looked at Dean like he was a total moron. Truth be told, it was a stupid question. Dean was ninety nine percent sure that he knew what she was talking about.

"Tell her that you're her father."

"I haven't been there for her Missouri. How can I expect her to forgive me for that?"

Missouri snorted. "You're being ridiculous and you know it." She opened a cupboard, pulled out a glass and offered it to Dean. "Now why don't you get that water you wanted and go back to bed?"

***

"Wake up!"

Thump.

"Wake up!"

Thump.

"Wake up!"

Dean vaguely wondered why Evie bothered using words. He would have had to have been dead not to be roused by her jumping on his back. It would have been nice to have been still asleep at six am but the grin on Evie's face indicated that she was going to have a happy morning at least and that more than made up for the rude awakening. He swivelled around and grabbed her.

"Jump on me will you? Jump on me?" Dean growled at Evie in mock annoyance. "You know I'm going to have to tickle you for that!" And that is exactly what he did.

Between Evie's shrill giggling and Dean's growls it would have been surprising if Sam had stayed asleep.

"Don't you two know what time it is?" He asked, staring at them incredulously.

"Oh good, you're awake. I thought I was going to have to send Evie over there."

"Dean, it's ten past six in the morning. Do you really think Missouri wants to be woken up at this hour?"

That sobered Dean up immediately. "Sammy's right Evie. We don't want to wake up Missouri or she'll be cranky. How about I read you a story?"

"Can we look at Mummy's photos?"

"I don't know if we've got any with us. If you get dressed we can go have a look in the car."

"You have to get dressed too, can't go outside in your pj's."

***

Apparently Missouri had also risen with the birds. The first thing Dean noticed on getting downstairs was that he could smell coffee. He immediately changed course, heading directly for the kitchen.

The coffee maker was humming and Missouri was busy stirring something that looked like pancake mix.

_I could kiss you. _Dean thought, biting back a curse as he remembered too late that his thoughts were not private here.

"Please don't. A simple thanks will be fine." Missouri told him, amusement evident in her tone. "And what have I told you about your language?"

Dean groaned. "Isn't it too early to be arguing? By the way, I hope we didn't wake you."

"Lucky for you I was already awake. They must have heard all that carry on in Iceland! Now, if you'll take over here, I was hoping Evie might help me find my cat." She turned to Evie, "He's hiding in the back yard. Will you help me?"

Evie nodded. "I like cats." She seemed to have completely forgotten that they had been going to look at photos.

"Good." Missouri turned back to Dean and pointed at a cupboard behind him. "You'll find the frypan in there."

"Ok. I hope you didn't want these to be edible."

"No, I expect them to be edible. Don't talk yourself down, I know you can cook."

"I know I wasn't thinking about it."

"Maybe not, but according to Bobby you're not bad at it."

"Compared to Sam maybe, but he could burn water."

"So I've heard. Come on Evie, Boots needs his breakfast."

***

The pancakes actually turned out quite nicely, much to Dean's surprise. He decided it must have been something to do with what Missouri had put in the mixture rather than anything whatsoever to do with his barely existent cooking skills. It was a relief really as he hadn't wanted to even think about how Missouri might react if he cremated their breakfast.

Boots had been a big hit with Evie, and remarkably tolerant of her unending attentions. He was the perfect distraction for her while Dean, Sam and Missouri discussed what to do about her abilities.

"So, picking up where we left off last night, and assuming that you're right and Evie is a mage, where do we go from here?" Dean asked.

"If I was you I'd take her to Moira Lucas. She'll know what to do. She's a mage herself and she's dealt with quite a few young mages in her time. She needs to learn control for a start."

"Ok, so where do we find this woman?"

"Moira lives with her husband outside Angaston in Wisconsin. I have a map somewhere, and her phone number. Make sure you call before you turn up on her doorstep. She doesn't like surprises and she could probably turn you into a radish if she had a mind to."

"Would it be safe to let Dean in the same room with her then?" Sam piped up.

"Ha, ha very funny Sam." Dean muttered sourly.

"Moira can't read minds so as long as he keeps his mouth shut he should be fine."

Missouri paused for a moment.

"On a more serious note, I know I said last night that Evie probably wouldn't do anything in public but she's a lot stronger than I thought. When we were looking for Boots earlier she used magic to find him. It wasn't obvious – without my own gifts I probably wouldn't have known and I don't think Evie realised she was doing it – but even so, it's not something to take lightly."

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Thanks for reading! Reviews are appreciated :)


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